Feature: Spain's Ebro Transfer - a major turnaround

Holiday in the sun

(Author: Saren Starbridge)

No stranger to arid conditions, Spain is well-positioned to lead the way in effective water management. A magnet for sunseekers, the country boasts over 300 days a year of sunshine, with temperatures averaging up to 23°C and reaching the 30s and 40s in summer.

Average annual rainfall as low as 250mm in some regions practically guarantees a cloud-free holiday. At Costa Blanca, Costa Brava, Costa del Sol and other evocatively named locations, the Mediterranean seaside is thickly encrusted with resorts catering to holidaymakers, and more are planned. Irrigation supports flowers, fruits, vegetables, olives and wine grapes which flourish in the warm weather and feed a lucrative export market.

It's a familiar Mediterranean scene: just add water and you have paradise. However, paradise is increasingly crowded and, in Spain as elsewhere, strident demands for water can drown out common sense.

What about this scenario? Lush vegetation and misty green valleys are not part of the Spanish holiday picture, but they are part of the geography. Northern Spain can receive as much as 800-950mm of rain annually and it is here, in the Cantabrian mountains, that the Ebro River rises. One of the longest rivers on the Iberian Peninsula, the Ebro flows out of the mountains through Catalunya's Rioja wine region. Midway between Barcelona and Valencia, it reaches the Mediterranean and the Ebro delta spreads out into rice paddies, wetlands and Ramsar-listed bird habitat.

Why not siphon off some of that abundant water and re-distribute it to Spain's parched but sunny south where it could support year-round greenhouse agriculture and the sparkling pools and emerald velvet golf courses dear to the hearts of holidaymakers? Is there anything wrong with such a tempting picture?

Where does the list begin?